Why Running Away Is Not the Answer

Jack, Duddits, Gizmo, Vinny--what do these names have in common? No, they are not all members of the Mafia, although their faces are all on "wanted" posters. 

All are dogs who ran away, lost in our neighborhood.  It's a terrible feeling when your pet is lost. Your mind can imagine all kinds of awful scenarios and you feel so helpless to do anything about it.

Yet aren't we just like runaway dogs sometimes? We get frightened or distracted or overly adventurous and run away from the very thing we need for security, nurture and loving care. We allow our animal nature with its instinctive reactions to lead us into danger rather than listening to that "still, small voice" of greater wisdom and guidance within. Imagining freedom to be "out there somewhere" we fail to recognize the freedom at hand.

True freedom comes when you realize that you are already free, no matter what the external circumstances. You are free to choose how you will respond in any situation. What will your choice be?

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." --Nelson Mandela